Pat Riley Net Worth

Pat Riley is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is known as being one of the greatest NBA coaches of all times, with him having served as a coach for five championship teams. During his time as a coach with L.A. Lakers, he won four championships during their prime years in the 1980’s as well as one championship with the Miami Heat in 2006. His success as a coach led him to be named NBA Coach of the Year, while being a head coach with the Lakers as well as the New York Knicks and Miami Heat. The estimated net worth of Pat Riley is $80 million.

Biography

Patrick James Riley, also known as Pat Riley, was born on March 20, 1945, in Rome, New York, and was raised in Schenectady, New York. His father Leon Riley, played 22 seasons of minor league baseball. He also played as an outfielder and first baseman as well as appeared in four games for the 1944 Philadelphia Phillies. Pat Riley attended Linton High School, in Schenectady, where he played basketball. He went on to attend the University of Kentucky, where he was known to be a versatile athlete, where he played both football and basketball. When he was a junior, he was named First Team All-SEC, All-NCAA Tournament Team, NCAA Regional Player of the Year, SEC Player of the Year and AP Third Team All-American, which led to the Wildcats going to the 1966 NCAA title game. Riley’s senior year was a success as well, with him making the First Team All-SEC and being recognized as one of the only players in Kentucky Basketball history to make two or more First Team All-SEC teams.

Career

Pat Riley started his career in the sports world in 1967 after being selected by the San Diego Rockets in the 1st round of the NBA draft. He was also drafted into the 1967 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys as a wide receiver in the 11th round. Riley made the decision to join the Rockets and was later selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the expansion draft in 1970. However, he was later traded to the L.A. Lakers, where he helped take the team to the 1972 NBA Championship by coming off of the bench. He later retired after the 1975-76 NBA season as a member of the Western Conference Championship. During his career as a basketball player, he averaged 7.4 points per game. Even though he quit playing basketball, he returned the next year, in 1977 as a broadcaster for the Lakers. During the 1979-80 season, after the Lakers’ head coach, Jack McKinney was injured in a bike accident, the assistant coach, Paul Westhead took over, which led Riley to move from being a broadcaster to being one of the assistant coaches. In 1983, he led the team to the NBA Finals as a head coach. He also led them there in 1984 and 1986 as well. With popularity of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Pat Riley helped his team get crowned NBA champions in 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988. Although he was named NBA head coach in the 1989-90 season, he stepped down as head coach of the Lakers, because of rumors of him mistreating the players and having anger issues. After stepping down, Riley took on a job as being a television commentator for NBC, but this job only lasted for a year. For the 1991-92 season, he became head coach for the New York Knicks, where he led the team to their best regular record in the team history. In 1994, Pat Riley brought the team back to the NBA Finals, defeating the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference. He went on to become head coach and president of the Miami Heat in 1995. He was again named Coach of the Year in 1997. Riley later stepped down to focus more on his executive responsibilities, but returned in 2006 to be a head coach and win his fifth championship. He officially retired as head coach in 2008 from the Miami Heat, but he was still active as President and even acquired basketball player Lebron James on the team all-star guard Dwayne Wade in 2010. Pat Riley also wrote the books, The Winner Within: A Life Plan for Team Players and Show Time: Inside the Lakers’ Breakthrough Season.

Net Worth of Pat Riley

Although Pat Riley has spent years perfecting teams into even better teams, he still continues to spread his hope and motivation to people everywhere. HIs passion may have led him to retire, but his love of basketball never left the court. Riley has dedicated his life to not only being a lover of basketball, but also someone who works hard to win. He has made a name for himself in the book world with his published books as well as being a motivational speaker. The net worth of Pat Riley is $80 million, and he owes much of his success to his career as a basketball coach as well as the president of the Miami Heat. He can also pay tribute of his success to his career as an author.

Conclusion

Over the years, Pat Riley has been one of the biggest voices in basketball. He has not only changed the way the world looks at the game, but he has also involved in picking some of the greatest athletic talents in the world to play the game. Although, he may be known as a somewhat of a bully, the respect for Pat Riley goes far and wide in the NBA. He has grown to be a respected coach in the NBA because he knows talent and he knows how to push players be their best. He will always be known as the coach and president whose passion flows deeply for the NBA.

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